Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 29, 2017)
20 Wednesday, November 29, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon BUNKHOUSE CHRONICLE Th e Mill Party By Craig Rullman,, Columnist FREE T-SHIRT! With any $ 25 purchase (Offer valid through 12-24-17) 541-549-2059 216 W. Cascade Ave. Fantastic Mexican Food, Margaritas & Gift Card Sale Many of our recipes have been handed down for generations — and we create new menu items & specials all the time. Join us for lunch, dinner or one of our many specialty margaritas. I am sentimental about sawmills. That’s especially true around Christmas because the Sierra Pacific sawmill — at one time the sec- ond largest of its kind in the United States — was also the principal private employer where I was raised, in the sparsely populated north- east corner of California. My stepfather worked at Sierra Pacific for over 20 years, rolling logs in the millpond, pulling chain, freezing through graveyard shifts in the stacker house, and finally loading long lines of trucks and boxcars on a forklift. Like every man in that industry, he worked like a Georgia mule, sometimes seven days a week, and never once did anyone hear him complain. I often wonder what went through his mind on those long, very cold, and chaotic nights in the lumber mill, or the blistering-hot summer days, when just about anyplace on earth prob- ably felt like a better place to be. And I cherish memories of those dark mornings when, as I lay awake in my warm bed, he came home and slipped into the house like a ghost. I would lie in bed and listen as he quietly stoked the wood- stove in the living room, so that when we all got up for school the house would still be warm. Throughout my childhood, our fortunes rose and fell with the vagaries of the timber indus- try. There were lean times, when my stepfather would bring home a notice on company letter- head from “Red” Emmerson — who had built a small empire of lumber mills across north- ern California from the ground up — lament- ing with enviable sincerity a series of layoffs. And those days were made still leaner when the sawmill whistle, which blew every day at noon over the town of Susanville, went terri- bly and awkwardly silent, and we sat on my mother’s bed counting out nickels and pennies to pay for school pictures. My step-dad would make up the difference by feeding out cattle for our neighbors. He would cross the creek below our place — we lived far out of town — on a slippery old 2 by 12, then walk up the hill to the hay yards where hungry cattle stood covered in ice and bawling, on mornings so cold he had to use a blowtorch to unlock the tractor tires where they had frozen to the ground. But even in those rougher times there was an abiding sense of local community that bound families together. There was no notion See THE MILL PARTY on page 21 Sisters Bakery 10% OFF GIFT CARDS OF $60 OR MORE! Mention this ad 541-549-3594 150 E. Cascade Ave. Have yourself a tasty litt le Christmas All your favorite holiday flavors inside our pastries, cakes, cookies, br eads, and more! 541-549-0361 251 E. Cascade Ave., Hours: 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day A FUNDRAISER FOR FURRY FRIENDS Pet Photos with Santa Saturday, December 2 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sisters Art Works, 204 W. Adams Please give this holiday season to Furry Friends. Donate online at www.furryfriendsfoundation.com or send your check to Furry Friends Foundation, PO Box 1175, Sisters, OR 97759 No holiday feast is complete without a pie. And Santa Claus has worked hard to earn those Christmas cookies. Local folks know that Sisters Bakery is the place to go for delectable baked goods — from donuts to pies. And locals aren’t the only ones. Many travelers make Sisters Bakery a must- stop on their journey through Central Oregon. Sisters Bakery is a family business, and the bakers put love into their offerings. You’ll find pecan pie, pumpkin pie and many variations on apple pies baked fresh every day. Delight in originals like marionberry pie; raspberry rhubarb and peach. And new family recipes are being added in. Don’t wait to get your holiday orders in — place your order now to ensure that your Christmas table will feature some of the most delicious goodies to be found anywhere. And by all means, stop in during the busy season for a hot cup of coffee and a roll or donut. Furry Fiends Pet Photos with Santa It’s time for Furry Friends’ annual Pet Photos with Santa, Saturday, December 2, at Sisters Art Works at the corner of Ash and Adams. Pets — and some- times their owners — pose with Santa. There will be hand-drawn personalized ornaments for sale there, too. The event will be held during the Sisters Art Works Holiday Open House. Furry Friends is currently accepting donations for their annual pet-food drive, and cash donations are greatly needed to purchase pet food. Donors can also purchase food directly at Sisters Feed Co. and they’ll deliver it for you. The annual pet-food distribution, December 16, is in coordination with Sisters Kiwanis and Sisters-Camp Sherman RFPD. The annual drive traditionally feeds approximately 300 pets in the Sisters area. Donations can still be dropped off at The Nugget office, 442 E. Main Ave., made online at www.furryfriendsfoundation.org, or by mail to P.O. Box 1175, Sisters, OR 97759.
